Retail Therapy Day 5- Jave Hound I am

For long time readers of "Shoes/ Purses" you had to know this was coming. I was only going to write about stores in which I love to shop for non-food items but I just couldn't resist. Starbucks. I love Starbucks.

I love java, actually. Most of the time, I'm not a total coffee snob and I will drink just about damn near any sort of coffee imaginable- even Folgers when necessary. But if a Starbucks is nearby, then I am there. I LOVE my Peppermint Mocha, size venti. I love the taste and flavor of their beverages, and I especially love their espresso blend.

I love Starbucks stores: I love all the coffee mugs and bagged coffees and other fun stuff. I love the pastry and I suggest you all go- right now, I'll wait until you come back- to the nearest Starbucks and get a cherry pastry. Oh. My. Goddess. These are soooooooo good! I like all their food- including the sandwiches. And the blueberry scones are worth a taste.

I'm also a fan of the black iced tea unsweetened. That's often my summer drink choice, or my Peppermint Mocha over ice.

There's a Starbucks about 20 minutes from me and I go there at all times so I never really see the same barista twice, but there's one I go to in Northern Civilization and a woman who works there seems to be there every time I go. she recognizes me and knows my "usual."

Great, now I need to make a Starbucks run!

Caffeine Queen,
Maggie

Retail Therapy Day 4- Why I *heart* Hobby Lobby

I love to go to Hobby Lobby even if I never buy anything. I can spend hours in Hobby Lobby just walking around, wandering aimlessly through the aisles and soaking it all in.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of a Hobby Lobby experience, I pity you. But the general idea is that it's a large craft store, primarily. And I mean everything for just about every crafter: paints, bolts of fabric, patterns, beads, scrapbook stuff, wood burning, silk flowers, jewelry making stuff, skeins of yarn, colored cotton balls, doll house kits, doll house furniture, stamps, and... and... and... everything you can possibly imagine for doing crafts and hobbies. There's even a whole row of flip flops with patterns to make your own toe topper on them- and all the stuff- feathers, ribbons, beads, sparkles, bangles- you name it, Hobby Lobby has it.

Hobby Lobby also sells unique furniture pieces and things for the home like pictures, picture frames, tchotchke, pillows, vases, faux art and the like. They also sell holiday party items, bird bathes and garden statuary, greeting cards and have a section of the store that does framing. I'm not kidding when I say this place has everything!

I love to go if I need something because they always have it. I got all my quilting supplies there. I love to go when I don't need anything. It's fun to just browse because you never know what you'll find. I am not kidding, but I have literally spend hours just walking around Hobby Lobby.

This store makes me happy. So if you've never been, find one and go get lost. Even if you have no hobbies, it's worth a looky-loo!

Crafters delight,
Maggie

Retail Therapy Day 3- Clothes that fit

When I lived in the Wild West, the nearest store that sold plus size clothes was about 3.5 hours away AND there was no store- there were departments in other stores, but no specialty clothing store. So for three years I shopped at Wal-Mart. And while there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Wal-Mart clothes, it was different than what I was used to wearing and I shopped there for 3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I do need a plus size but just barely. I have a small waist and wide hips and junk in the trunk. I've got boobage as well, so plus sized clothes just fit my boldly proportioned body better than others.

So when I moved back to Civilization, I was excited to have a chance to buy clothes would actually fit and I've spent hours trolling my favorite Lane Bryant store in Northern Civilization. There are 2 in that city but my favorite one is located in an outdoor mall. It's such a favorite that the sales clerks know me by name and love it when I come in. I've dragged Daddy-O on enough of these shopping trip that they also know him by sight.

First, I love Lane Bryant's clothes. Just because clothes can be made in a plus size doesn't mean they should be. And Lane Bryant realizes this, so they sell stylish clothes in great colors and lovely prints taking a woman's size into consideration. So I know when I go in there, i can find stuff to wear as a professional, to be casual, to work out, great jeans, perfect bras and jammies.

And speaking of bras, they just had their semi annual bra sale and I am now the proud owner of 7 new bras all with matching underwear, thank you very much. I love matching bras and pantie sets and though no one but me sees them (that's a post for another day, the loneliness of underwear viewing) I still like them to match and it makes me feel nice.

Lane Bryant also sells a name brand of clothing called Right Fit. These are pants (could have other articles but I have no idea) that are customed fit by a color coded system to fit the shape of every woman. These are the first pants in jeans and trousers that I've had in about 10 years that really, really fit just perfect.

I love the women who work at my favorite store. They are funny, sweet and kind. I walk in the door and they show me new stuff that's come in and couldn't wait to show me. They tell me when something I really, really want is going to be on sale, and have been known to tuck something away for me. My favorite clerks aren't afraid to tell me if an outfit looks good or is unflattering.

I love shopping at Lane Bryant and they sell clothes that fit with a friendly staff. OMG- I just love me a little retail therapy and I hear a pink sweater calling my name!

Retail Therapy Day 2- So many books, so little time

As you all know I could wax poetic about books for hours on end so I'll try to reign in my bibliophine-ness and focus on the task at hand: book stores. Oh, and yes I know I have an ongoing love affair with book stores and you can see them if you click here!

But today I want to focus on 2 specific bookstores that hold the keys to my literary heart: Half Price Books and Barnes and Noble.

Half Price Books
HPB is a used bookstore but like none I've ever been in. For those of you who frequent such haunts, you'll probably agree that the TYPICAL used book store is dirty, dusty, grimy and filled with old books. New books are a rare find. They are usually chaotically organized, smell like mustiness and old books. Not so with Half Price Books. This is a classy used bookstore, which is as fun as the usual kind- which, don't get me wrong, I also adore!

But walking into a Half Price Book store is just like going to any other bookstore- it's clean, well lit, very well organized, lots of helpful and knowledgeable staff members available, but all the books are used. And in great condition. And lots of new books by popular authors.

They sell used books at half their cover prices, or even less. Not only do they have a huge selection of hardback, paperback and soft cover books about EVERYTHING, they also have a nice section of audio books, DVDs, board games, computer games, VHS tapes, CDs, and record albums- you know, vinyl? Add a few comfy chairs and tables and some free coffee- yes FREE coffee, and you have the wonderful shopping experience known as Half Price Books.

But wait, that's not all! For those of you who might want some cash or need to clean those book cases, they buy your books for cash. That's right, cash. NOT store credit, but actual green money bucks. It's awesome. I survived for a month and paid my cell phone bill on money I made from selling books there.

There's also a section of brand new stuff- it's books marks and stationary and journal type books. These are overstock from other places and are carried at Half Price Books, which I think is fun since I do love stationary, bookmarks and journals. I can't help it- I'm an addict.

It's rare that I've gone to HPB and not found what I wanted. But being a book lover, I usually have a long list of things I'm looking for so I can always find something. And something I can afford- I just got a Christopher Moore book I've been wanting to read.

Barnes and Noble
This is a great bookstore, with comfy chairs, books everywhere, well organized, clean, and a cafe that sells Cheesecake Factory goodies and Starbucks Coffee. I mean, how good can it get?

There's something about Barnes and Noble that I just enjoy. I like how most of the time it's quiet, like a library, except when I'm there, of course. I like all the fun gift ideas with everything from bookends to journals to cards to desk sets... a little bit of everything fun.

They have a great bargain section usually filled with not only novels, but wonderful coffee table books of all kinds.

Of course they have for sale the same things as Half Price books, just everything at B and N is new, nothing used. And I think the feature of being able to scan a CD, put some headphones on and being able to listen to some tracks is very, very cool.

One time I met my cousin and her friend at a B and N and we got stacks and stacks of books- the coffee table kind or cookbooks- not anything that took great amounts of attention to read, but books we always wanted to just look at. Then we got coffee and snacks and sat for hours pouring over the books and buying a few. It was wonderful.

So I can get my Venti Peppermint Mocha and wander aimlessly through the stacks and then plop down and just enjoy myself.

I love books and bookstores. And I can't wait to visit again! I need to pull out my list and get ready for a visit!

Always reading,
Maggie

Retail Therapy Day 1- Feelin' love for the Dollar Tree

I was actually working on a post where I was going to proclaim my love for Dollar Tree. It's been sitting in my drafts folder for a bit when I was surfing my blog favs and over at Little Pink Magnolia she also professed her love of this saving store! I thought maybe I should declare July "Dollar Tree" month in honor of such a great store!

I love to go there for... well, for everything. I've found ultra low cut socks there, which are perfect for the type of Sketcher tennis shoes I wear. And these socks are just darling, with fun and cute pictures on them, like slices of pizza or hearts or flowers or even a pair with pink flamingos. I also love to buy balloons and gift bags at the dollar tree- beautiful gift bags in ANY size, including huge, which are usually about 5 bucks at Wally World or 9 bucks at the Hallmark shop are ONLY 1 DOLLAR!

This is the perfect place to indulge my sweet tooth because they sell the movie theater sized boxes of candy there- I can get my fill of Sugar Babies, Junior Mints, Sweet Tarts for Mac, and a plethora of other goodies.

This is the best place to get cleaning products and if you keep your eyes open you can actually find name brand cleaning supplies. And that's the spendy stuff when at any other store so I try and get my 409, Dawn Dish Soap, toilet cleaner and Comet (or Spic n Span) at the Dollar Tree.

As a teacher, I go nuts there right before schools tarts. I stock up on pencils, paper and pens for my classroom. I decided it's not a battle worth fighting and if a student would show up sans notebook or writing implement, I would furnish it. Hey, I can get 24 pencils for a dollar- I'd rather take those few minutes I would spend reprimanding a child for being unprepared, and use them to say... TEACH stuff! And I get stickers there to put on students papers all school year long. (Yes, I put stickers on HS kids' papers. I just do it. mac's fault. Post for another time!)

And I could go on and on and on about all the scrapbook stuff at Dollar Tree- stickers, paper, pens, stamps- everything for the scrapbooker and I am one of those so I like to pick up stuff for my hobby cheaply and this is a good place to do it.

Curley, Daddy-O, Mac and I like to go to the Dollar Tree to just walk around and look to see what stuff they have. the stock changes all the time. One time we might find a beautiful set of coffee mugs and another time we find statues of Golden Retriever puppies with wings and another may have us in an aisle looking at 300 foam cones in all sizes... now, I never usually buy any of those things (I am so not even going into it about the dogs with wings... I mean, really, seriously, do I even NEED to?) but it's still fun to look and be shocked at what sort of tchotchke will be out.

And it's a great place to get holiday themed decorations and paper goods and party stuff. You want pink paper plates, for example, this is the place to get them, and get them cheap!

When I lived in the Wild West, I was about 3.5 hours from the nearest Dollar Tree and I can't believe I actually survived without it. I go at least twice a week now! It's like... crack! Or coffee! Or sho shopping- okay, wait, not like shoes! And since I still don't have a full time job (Okay will someone in bloggerville hire me to do something PLEASE? I'll even move, at this point. As long as there's a Dollar Tree!) this is the perfect place for me to indulge my shopping needs and worship the shopping goddess. Wanna see a picture? Click here!

Can you believe I actually got a pair of orange flip-flops there, that have a large white Daisy on the toe, and white polka dots?!? Shoes at the Dollar Tree! FOR A DOLLAR?!? Ah, what bliss is this!

Will buy almost anything for a buck,
Mags

Announcing Retail therapy week!- And 89 things you never wanted to know about me!

This week on "shoes/ purses" I'll be indulging all of you with some of my favorite retail stores and shopping experiences. There are reasons I've picked these places and I'll be happy to share why! Everyday this week I'll be writing about some sort of shop or eatery. First up will be why I have an ongoing love affair with The Dollar Tree- look for that post tomorrow!

Hope ya'll are having a great holiday weekend! Saturday brought us a much needed rain sans a storm- just plain old rain and today finds me scooping ice cream in the afternoon- not sure what tonight might bring- maybe a movie at the local film center that specializes in artsy films: the stuff that graces Sundance, Cannes, foreign films, documentaries... I might check out Away we Go there! Or I could knock off another season of House, MD... who knows?

And here are 89 things you never wanted to know about me...

1. My eye color: brown

2. Favorite car: Shelby Mustang, GT500, 1967
3. Right-handed or left-handed: Right
4. Shoes you wore today: flip flops, and Sketcher tennis shoes
5. My fears: dying alone, spiders, jail
6. Goal you would like to achieve this year: find a job
7. Thoughts first waking up: “I hate alarm clocks"
8. My bedtime: Usually between 10-11 pm when working full time; now, whenever I feel tired
9. Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
10. Single or Group Dates: no dating at all; I've given it up
11. Chocolate or Vanilla: usually chocolate
12. Do you smoke: no not really; sometimes I will be a "social smoker" but I have to be VERY drunk to do that
13. Do you sing: Yes, but not well
14. Have you been in love: yup
15. Do you want to get married: no
16. Do you get along with your parents: yes
17. Do you play a musical instrument: I took piano lessons for 3 years, on and off, so I learned enough to read music and I can plunk out notes. I really would like to learn to play well, and to play the guitar.
18. In the past month have you smoked: NO (what's the obsession with smoking?)
19: Favorite candy bar: Cadbury Dairy Milk bars
20. In the past month have you gone on a date: NO
21. All-time favorite sports team: New England Patriots
22. Ideal girlfriend/boyfriend: John Cusak or Johnny Depp
23. My best friend(s): Curley with Alaska Sam, Hecate and Philsgirl as my closest friends.
24. Do you believe in love at first sight: not any more
25. Favorite clothing brand: Whatever fits nicely
26. Dream vacation: All over Great Britain
27. My favorite singer: Billy Joel and of late Michael Buble
28. My favorite movie: Here are just a few — When Harry Met Sally, The Holiday, Love Actually, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca,
29. Have you ever fired a gun: yes
30. Do you like answering these questions: I must because I do lots of memes
31. Do you like yourself: not really
32. I am addicted to… Shoes, purses, Starbucks, libraries, Hobby Lobby
33. Favorite drink: margaritas or Pepsi
34. Do you have a crush on anyone: no
35. Are you ticklish: yes
36. Favorite ice cream flavor: this week it's a three way tie with Amaretto Cherry Chip or Drumstick, or Kettle Crunch but the stand by fav is always Mint Chocolate Chip
37. Define yourself in 3 words… fat and sassy
38. Do you believe in God: nope
39. Favorite day of the week: Saturday (if I don't have to work it)
40. Heads or tails: tails
41. Favorite author: I don't really have a favorite but I have several that I enjoy reading: Christopher Moore, Jodi Picoult, James Patterson, Sue Grafton
42. What magazines do you read: Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Taste of Home, Rolling Stone, Bon Appetite, Time, a quilting mag that I can't remember the title of
43. Sweet or sour: Sweet
44. Favorite chewing gum brand: usually spearmint
45. My hair color: auburn with some gray
46. Height: 5′ 4″
47. My heritage: Irish, Scottish, Walsh, German
48. My weakness: saying "no" and food and saying no to food
49. My perfect pizza: cheese and mushroom
50. My most overused phrase on IM: cu, idk, ru...?

51. My best physical feature: eyes
52. Do you get motion sickness: only if it's really really hot in the car or if I'm in the backseat
53. McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
54. Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton
55. Cappuccino or Coffee: Coffee
56. Do you swear: Fuck yeah!
57. Do you want to go to college: I’ve got a BS and a partial Masters so yes I would like more education. I would be a spectacular career student and get degrees in art history, anthropology, Literature of some kind, a my teaching certification, finish my Masters degree in Education, and then I think I would indulge in something to do with film, take cooking classes, photography classes, and anything else that happened to interest me like sociology.
58. Do you think you’re attractive: no
59. Do you like thunderstorms: no.
60. In the past month have you drunk alcohol: Yep
61. In the past month have you been on drugs: no
62. Favorite cartoon as a child: Flintstones? (I don't really remember!)
63. Favorite sport: Football to watch and nothing to play
64. In the past month have you been on stage: no
65. Ever been beaten up: Nope
66. How you want to die: Peacefully, in my sleep
67. Number of piercings: one in each ear
68. Favorite color: pink
69. Favorite food dish: steak or pastry or pasta
70. My parents are… my dad is living, mother died
71. Do you have children: One
72. Do you have pets: no
73. My favorite music genre: pop, adult contemporary, and whatever sounds good. But I'm going through a serious HATRED of country music right now. It makes me physically gag.
74. My favorite season: I don't have one right now. How about cool weather, but not COLD?
75. Silver or Gold: Silver
76. Who was the last person that called you: Guard
77. Are you a good driver: not sure... I think I'm a lucky driver
78. Would you rather be rich or famous: Rich
79. When I’m sad or down, I prefer to… sleep or blog or read or be alone
80. What is your phone’s current ringtone: right now the default is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz and when Mac calls it plays "My generation" by the Who
81. The longest you’ve gone without sleeping: 2 days
82. What would you do with a million dollars: Pay off all bills, give my dad money, make a college fund for Mac and the Divine Ms K, travel, take Mac on a vacation, buy a B and B and go back to school
83. What makes you laugh: not much
84. Your favorite book: like with films, I have more than one. here are a few: Honeymoon with my Brother, The Smoke Jumper, The Kite Runner, To Kill a Mockingbird, A 1,000 Splendid Suns, A Salty Piece of Land, Lucy, almost everything by Christopher Moore
85. Most embarrassing moment: I have a few and am not writing about them here
86. Favorite item that you currently own: my laptop
87. Have you ever moved: yes lots
88. Kisses or hugs: Both!
89. Are you a very emotional person: not so much any more

I want stuff...

If I had a job and I had money, I would be participating in Retail Therapy due to the split with AIISam. Here's just a sampling of some goodies that I would indulge in if I had the pocket money to splurge... Gifts are gladly accepted!

Holly Golightly Sleep Mask

or

this sleep mask...

My Amazon Wish list for movies...

Harney and Son Fine Teas

Sex and the City name necklace- only with my name on it... and my name isn't Maggie
Grey's Anatomy Seasons 1-4 on DVD

Perfect Red Shoes

This is a Donna Sharp bag. The pattern is Mocha Patch and the style is called a Hipster. Me want, want, want!

I know some or all of these goodies would make me feel better. *Sigh* I know better than to bother to date and that I should just concentrate on the important things in life like shoes, shopping, the new Donna Sharp bag, sleeping, and avoiding men like the plague. What the hell was I thinking that he would be the one for me, of all people. *Sheesh* shoes, purses and such never give me rejection. Not only did I get dumped, but I can't even afford to stimulate the economy! Life sucks...